Redlands Men's Basketball Sweeps SCIAC Weekly Awards

Redlands Men's Basketball Sweeps SCIAC Weekly Awards

The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) announced on Monday that the University of Redlands men's basketball team swept the weekly awards for January 14-20. Senior guard Joey Sponheim (Redlands, CA) reached a pair of milestones en route to being named the Offensive Athlete of the Week, while first-year guard/forward Gary Menary (Grass Valley, CA) stepped up to receive the Defensive Athlete of the Week honor during the Maroon and Gray's 3-0 week.

Sponheim averaged 25.7 points while shooting an efficient 60.5% overall and 63.6% from beyond the arc last week. On Monday, he eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in his career with 23 points in a 63-52 victory over Caltech. He then drained several big shots for a career-high 40 points to outdo the conference's leading scorer in the Bulldogs' hard-fought 101-97 triumph over Occidental College. Sponheim also registered five rebounds, three assists, and two steals against the Tigers. He closed out the successful week with 14 points and six assists in 26 minutes of an 83-55 victory over the University of La Verne on the road. Overall, he owned an assist-to-turnover ratio of 11.0.

Sponheim earns his second offensive athlete of the week award following the honor on December 3.

Menary made a strong impact on the defensive end during the Bulldogs' three-game streak. He tallied five steals overall, as highlighted by a four-steal performance in an 83-55 win on the road against La Verne. Menary, who leads the team in rebounds overall, also reeled in 21 total rebounds and added three blocks over the week. Fifteen of his boards came off the defensive glass. Finally, he chipped in 15 points.

This marks Redlands' first basketball sweep of the weekly honors with both men's and women's selections for all four awards this season. For the women, junior guard Cassandra Lacey (Victorville, CA) was named the SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week and sophomore guard/forward Kellis Dack (Vancouver, WA) received the Defensive Athlete of the Week award.

To view all of this week's recipients, please visit the SCIAC's website.

With last week's three victories, the Bulldog men's basketball team now sits alone in fourth place in the SCIAC standings with eight games remaining in the regular season. Redlands (10-7, 5-3 SCIAC) hits the road on Wednesday, January 23, to face Whittier College at 7 p.m.